>>1018512Let me tell you a story related to your question, OP.
About 16 years ago when I started riding regularly again, all I had was a cheap ($350) mountain bike made by Giant. It was a piece of shit. I knew nothing about bikes, really. I also had no money to speak of. I dressed to ride about the way you did: nylon gym shorts, cotton t-shirt, crosstraining shoes. Bike had a huge saddle, too big and too much gel in it, although I didn't know how wrong it was at the time. Bike wasn't fitted to me either, but that's a whole different story. I'd ride for hours. I'd stew in my own sweat because nothing I was wearing would move sweat away from me to evaporate it away. It was miserable. I got massive saddle sores in part because of that, bad enough that I wouldn't be able to ride for days, even a week sometimes, until they went down.
Cycling-specific clothing are designed to fit like a second skin, and are made of a fabric of fibers that have channels on them, and capillary action wicks sweat away from you to the surface of the fabric, where it's evaporated away, not only keeping you cooler, but helping to prevent saddle sores. The padding in the crotch of cycling shorts also wicks moisture away from your crotch, provides cushioning in the spots you really need it most, so you don't have to have a gigantic saddle, so you have less chafing, therefore less skin irritation, and that plus less bacterial-laden sweat hanging around, you have less chances of painful saddle sores.
Cycling-specific jerseys also are made of moisture-wicking material that helps keep you drier and cooler instead of overheating.
Wear what you like, but cycling-specific clothing is not a meme, it's not 'jew companies trying to take your sheckles', and it's not 'gay looking' because MOST avid cyclists wear cycling-specific clothing. It's purpose-made, and there are damned good reasons to use it. You can get decent generic gear from Voler for cheap.
